CEOs Pledge Support for Obama’s Effort to Help Long-Term Unemployed

President Barack Obama signs a memorandum directing the federal government not to discriminate against long-term unemployed workers in its own hiring practices in the East Room of the White House, as Vice President Joe Biden stands at right, Friday.

Associated Press

Updated with the announcement and comments.

President Barack Obama said Friday that he wants to connect ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs as he announced that more than 300 U.S. companies have signed a pledge aimed at halting hiring practices that discriminate against the long-term unemployed.

After meeting with nearly two dozen CEOs and executives at the White House, the president detailed his plans to put those who have been out of work for months back in jobs, and he called on businesses to adopt best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term jobless. Mr. Obama also signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government to adopt these practices to ensure that people who are out of work receive a fair shot in the federal hiring process.

“Statistically, the long- term unemployed are oftentimes slightly better educated, some cases better qualified than folks who just lost their job,” Mr. Obama said. “Just because you’ve been out of work for a while does not mean that you are not a hard worker.”

Saying that giving up on those without jobs would create a drag on the economy that could not be tolerated, the president committed to making a serious dent in the long-term unemployment problem.

Gene Sperling, director of the president’s National Economic Council, said that 21 of the 50 largest companies in the country – and a total of more than 300 businesses – have committed to make hiring practices inclusive and to remove barriers to employing the long-term jobless. Employers such as AT&T Inc., Citigroup Inc., Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Xerox Corp have agreed to the pledge. News Corp, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, was among the companies that signed the pledge.

The companies “all took very seriously what it meant to sign on to a pledge publicly like this,” Mr. Sperling said. He added that their commitments were not an admission that they had done anything wrong but a promise to use best practices going forward.

But what impact the voluntary pledge might have remains an open question. Mr. Sperling couldn’t provide an estimate of how many people might be helped by this effort. And administration officials haven’t spelled out plans to enforce the companies’ commitments or monitor progress.

The president said that this partnership with companies seeks to break the negative cycle for the unemployed, as people who have been without work the longest often encounter an increasing number of obstacles.

“It’s a cruel catch-22 — the longer you’re unemployed, the more unemployable you may seem, Mr. Obama said.

The White House pointed to a study showing that those who have been out of work for seven months send out an average of 35 resumes to receive just one job interview; those unemployed for one month schedule one interview for every 10 resumes they send.

The unemployment rate has fallen to 6.7%, but large numbers of people have left the work force. Millions have been out of work for more than six months. Benefits for the long-term jobless lapsed last month, and lawmakers have not heeded Mr. Obama’s call to extend the expanded unemployment program.

The president’s announcement Friday is just the latest in a series of unilateral steps that the White House hopes will underscore its goal of making this a year of action. But some of the presidential memoranda have been decidedly modest and have highlighted the limits of what the president can do alone. Republicans also have criticized what they view as an attempt to sidestep Congress.

Administration officials said the White House was using every tool at its disposal, and this effort to work with employers accomplished some things that congressional action could not.

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.